The present invention generally relates to a tube tee forming and trimming system and, more specifically, to an automated, self-contained tube tee forming and trimming system for forming and trimming a pullout joint.
A pullout joint, also known as a tube tee, is formed in a tube to allow other tubes or fittings to be welded to the parent tube. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown one example of a pullout joint 12 formed in a tube 10. Pullout joints must be accurately located, correctly formed, and trimmed to the required height.
A conventional pullout joint is made by attaching the part to a work surface and cutting an elliptical hole in the tube using either a laser or an abrasive water jet. The periphery of the cutout is then manually ground and polished to remove the heat affected material and cutting marks that will cause the material to crack when formed. After grinding, the part is cleaned to remove all anti spatter and grinding grit.
The area to be formed is coated with a forming lubricant. The detail is located in a form die in a forming press and clamped in place. A punch is heated to 500° F. using an induction-heating coil. After reaching the pre-set temperature, the punch is manually inserted into the tube and onto a drawbar that protrudes into the tube, through the elliptical cutout. The punch is rotated 90° and locked onto the drawbar. The press is then activated and the punch is drawn through the tube, forming the pullout. The part is removed from the tool and routed to the clean line to remove the forming lubricant.
After cleaning, the part is put in an assembly fixture and the pullout is scribed for the trim height, removed from the fixture and trimmed to the scribe line using a disk sander. After grinding the pullout to the scribe line, it is deburred and manually cleaned.
The above described conventional pullout forming and trimming process is quite lengthy, requiring large capital equipment and the use of several areas of the factory for the various steps.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved tube tee forming and trimming system that solved both the technical and logistical issues related to forming and trimming a pullout joint. More specifically, there is a need for an automated, self-contained pullout joint forming and trimming system that completes the process in a relatively small cell, without the need to travel out to another factory area, within a relatively short period of time, and with minimal use of manual labor.